A half-Indian contestant was crowned Miss Japan on Monday and will represent Japan in the Miss World beauty pageant later this year, although Priyanka Yoshikawa's victory has triggered complaints that a "pure Japanese" did not win.

"Before Ariana, 'haafu' girls couldn't represent Japan", she told AFP, using the Japanese term for children born to mixed marriages.

"That's what I thought too," she added. "I didn't challenge it until this day. Ariana encouraged me a lot by showing me and showing all mixed girls the way.

"We are Japanese," she said. "Yes, I'm half-Indian and people are asking me about my 'purity'. Yes, my dad is Indian and I'm proud of it. I'm proud that I have Indian in me. But that does not mean I'm not Japanese".

Priyanka Yoshikawa reacts to her victory in the Miss Japan contest. Credit:
AFP

Ms Miyamoto's win in 2015 was swiftly greeted by Internet commentators singling out her ethnicity for criticism.

On the Girls Channel web site, for example, anonymous posters were expressing their disappointment at Miyamoto's victory.

"The idea is to have a Japanese representing Japan," wrote one poster.

"I think it's bad that a 'haafu' has become the Japanese representative," added one commentator, while another posted: "I don't understand this selection criteria."

Ms Miyamoto was born in Nagasaki Prefecture to a Japanese mother and African-American father. She attended junior high school in her home town before completing high school in the United States. She holds a Japanese passport, speaks fluent Japanese and has a fifth-degree mastery of traditional Japanese calligraphy.

Priyanka Yoshikawa walks during the Miss World Japan.Credit:
AFP

Ms Yoshikawa, who is a keen kick-boxer, was bullied as a child because of her skin colour when she returned to Japan after living in the US and India.

Her win was greeted with disappointment on some online sites, with one anonymous poster demanding: "Just pick a proper Japanese."

Elsewhere, a Twitter poster asked: "What is the point of holding a pageant like this now? Zero national characteristics."

Another commented: "It’s like we’re saying a pure Japanese face can’t be a winner.”